


The Apprentice’s Curse

by YoGabiGabba123



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Cursed!Luz, F/F, Owlbeast!Luz
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 10,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26980726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoGabiGabba123/pseuds/YoGabiGabba123
Summary: After the events of Young Bloods, Old Souls (which is included in the first two chapters as an introduction), Luz is given Eda’s curse and has to deal with multiple difficulties as Eda and Lilith struggle to find a cure.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne, Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda, King & Luz Noceda, Luz Noceda & Everybody, Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter
Comments: 101
Kudos: 287





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first fic ever, but I am open to (constructive) criticism! The chapters will be relatively short due to my lack of experience, but hopefully they’ll get longer as the story progresses! They’ll probably be an update 2-3 times a week.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz fights with Lilith (follows the plot of Young Blood Old Souls).

Chapter 1: The Alliance

“Goodbye Luz.”

“EDAAAAA!”

Luz watched as her mentor, caged and helpless, rose on the platform and disappeared from view. Crumpling to her knees, tears began to blur her vision and silent sobs wracked her body.

—

Suddenly, the door opened behind her. Luz froze, afraid of what was going to happen next.

“Oh good. At least I found you Human.”

Lilith. It was Lilith. Luz shot up, trembling with anger.

“You. You hurt Eda. You put her in CHAINS! And now, I will take you down!”

Luz let out a battlecry and activated a light glyph, causing Lilith to raise her staff and cast a shield, dropping King in the process.

“I just want to talk!”

“Talk to the glyph, witch!” Luz spat, slamming a plant glyph into the ground to encircle Lilith. Lilith easily broke free, but was not prepared for the human lunging at her. Luz grasped the witch’s dark blue locks and yanked, hard.

“Ahh, stop!! What is wrong with you!” Lilith exclaimed as she and Luz stumbled through the doorway leaving to the human realm.

“Luuuuuz!” King shouted, chasing after them and jumping into the portal.

—

They both collapsed face-first on the ground, and Luz glanced up to see familiar landscape. They were in her world!

“Luz! Watch out!”

King snapped her out of her thoughts and she pivoted around to use a fire glyph to protect herself from Lilith’s attack. However, the glyph disintegrated, allowing Luz to be pinned to the ground.

“Please! Just listen to me!” Lilith pleaded as she winced from the human tugging her hair again.

Luz growled, “no way! You deserve to be petrified, not Eda!”

Lilith looked away, ashamed. “You’re right” she sighed, which took Luz by surprise. She stopped to listen.

—

“I know how to save Edalyn, but I can’t do it alone.”

Luz eyed her warily, but softly asked “how do I know I can trust you?”

Lilith proceeded to draw a large spell circle which summoned Eda’s staff and palisman, and handed them to Luz.

“Owlbert! You’re ok!” Luz smiled and hugged the small sentient owl to her chest. Her smile melted into an unreadable expression as she stood up.

“Alright Lilith. I don’t like your whole deal,” Luz paused, waggling her finger in a circle at Lilith, “but... we need your help to save Eda.”

“Thank you,” Lilith sighed a breath of relief. “Now let’s head back.”


	2. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz fights with the Emperor and escapes with Eda, King, and Lilith.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

Emperor Belos was waiting for them on the other side. Hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike.

As they walked to the elevator platform, Luz suddenly noticed something. “Uh, why aren’t there any guards here?”

As if on cue, clawed tendrils snaked around Lilith and King and lifted them up into the air. They both screamed and tried to wriggle out of the bounds, but to no avail.

Emperor Belo’s eerie voice boomed, “ **ah Lilith. You chose the wrong side.** ” Luz moved to attack, but the Emperor fixed his empty gaze on her.

“ **Ah buh-buh. I’d actually like to have a word with you,** _ **human**_ ” he sneered, voice dripping with venom.

The stage opened, and Lilith and King were forced into the cage alongside Eda.

\--

“Let my friends go, or _else_!” Luz yelled, slamming Eda’s staff down to release herself from the clawed restraints and triggering an ice glyph. The ice crystals nearly pierced the emperor’s mask, but he dissolved into the ground.

“ **Ok. I’ll play.** ”

Luz’s eyes widened as the emperor materialized behind her and flung her into a wall like a rag doll. The impact shattered the wall behind her, and she had to leap out of the way to dodge a giant axe. After a flurry of weaving around jagged rocks and claws, she directed herself at the emperor. However, an illusion of a giant worm sprang up from the ground, and she frantically triggered a fire glyph, resulting in an explosion.

“ **What’s wrong, human? I thought you _wanted_ to fight?**” The emperor taunted, seemingly invisible.

Immobilized by fear, the clawed tendrils grabbed hold of her and forced her to her knees. The emperor then showed himself, standing directly in front of her.

“ **Had enough?** ”

Luz smirked, “Not even close,” revealed an ice glyph from underneath her hand. The crystals jutted out and struck the emperor in one of his black, soulless eyes.

“ **AHHH** ” he groaned, bringing a masked glove to his eye as he turned away. He suddenly straightened and chuckled menacingly.

“ **I like your spirit,** ” he turned around, revealing a startlingly blue eye and a fractured mask. “ **But try that again, and it _won’t_ end well for you.**”

He began his villainous monologue, but all Luz could think about was that she failed. She failed Lilith, who she just started trusting. She failed King, who was like the little brother she never had. And she failed Eda, the one accepting parental figure in her life. She felt helpless, weighed down both emotionally and physically. _I’m a failure. I should just give up and maybe, just maybe, he’ll let them go. She shook her head. No, I can’t give up now. They’re depending on me! I have to--_ Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the emperor say,

“ **Now if you want to save your friends, give me the portal to the human realm.** ”

Luz hesitated. _He wants the portal? Pero… mi mama! Ayyy ¿Lo que debo hacer?_ Suddenly, a shrill roar came from above, snapping her out of her momentary indecision. _Eda! I can still save her…_

“ **Tick tock human, you don’t have much time left.** ”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Fine! You can have it.” Luz pulled out the portal key and activated it, which brought out the portal in suitcase form. “Lo siento mama” she whispered as she handed Emperor Belos the portal.

“ **Ah. The Titan will be pleased. Go on then. Go be a hero.** ”

Luz stepped onto the platform, and it began to rise. But then she turned around and glared at him.

“I may have lost, but so have you.” She tapped the staff on the platform, triggering the fire glyphs on the portal and destroying it. He looked up with a shocked expression, but then he fixed her with a sharp glare until she disappeared from sight.

\--

Luz was able to force Kikimora to open the cage after disrupting the petrification spell, and Eda had just enough strength to carry Luz, King, and Lilith back to the Owl House. However, not without a price. Eda collapsed to the ground in complete exhaustion, and Lilith, King, Luz exchanged worried glances.

“King, quick! Go get Eda an elixir!” exclaimed Luz. Lilith sighed, “No human. No amount of elixir can save her now. But I know what can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of canon compliance.


	3. The Trade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith performs the Spell of Transferation (yes I made it up).

Lilith sighed as she paced back and forth. _This is the only way to save Eda. So why am I hesitating?_ She exhaled, long and slow. _Right. The Human._

“So what do we have to do?” Luz asked in a panicked tone, watching Eda struggle to stay in control of her owl beast form. Her eyes flickered pitch black for a second, only to revert back with a groan.

Lilith collected herself and pulled Luz out of Eda’s earshot. “What are you willing to do for Eda, Human?”

“Actually, my name is Luz. Luz Noceda. But to answer your question, I would do _anything_ for Eda. She… has done so much for me. It’s the least I can do.”

Lilith’s face softened. But then she remembered what had to happen and frowned.

“To save Eda, I have to perform a complicated spell called the spell of transferation. This spell requires a caster, which will be me, and two willing participants.” Lilith paused, debating how to word the next part.

“This spell is capable of passing a curse from one host to another, as long as they are in close proximity.” 

A beat passed. Luz gasped, fully realizing the implications of what Lilith was saying. Lilith prepared for a stuttered protest from the human girl, but was shocked when she heard:

“Ok. I’ll do it.” 

King scurried up to Luz and tugged at her leg. “Wait, Luz! This could be a trick! Do you really believe her, after everything she’s done?”

Luz hesitated and looked at Lilith, and she sighed. “This is the only way to restore Eda’s powers completely. I could take on half of the curse, but her magic will still be blocked by the curse.”

King scoffed, folding his arms. “Really?! You just want to preserve your own powers, you traitor! You may have fooled others, but guess what? You can’t fool us.”

Lilith looked at the ground, ashamed. “I guess you’re right. I was selfish, and still am. I want to keep my powers-- there, I said it! But believe me, I want to make it up to my sister no matter what, and this is the only way. After this, Eda and I will not stop until I find a cure, and two witches with powers is better than two half-cursed, powerless witches.”

“Nyeh! Don’t forget about me! But… I see your logic…” admitted King.

Lilith turned to Luz. “And you? Do you trust me?”

Luz locked eyes with Lith, a fierce determination in her glossy eyes. “Yes, I trust you. Let’s do this.”

\--

It didn’t take much effort to contain Owlified Eda in a bubble due to her exhaustion and lack of coherent thoughts. _It’s probably for the best that she doesn’t know what’s going on_. Still, the owl beast did not like being contained. It pawed at the bubble, making an angry trilling noise.

Luz asserted, “Alright, put me in a bubble.”

Lilith obliged, casting a spell to summon a blue-tinted force-field around Luz. Then she started the incantation in a steady, clear voice. Suddenly, Eda began to writhe and contort in the bubble, shrieking all the while. Meanwhile, Luz began to feel like her mind was fogging up and her thoughts were slowing down. Her body grew heavy and her breathing became labored. Then the pain struck and she became consumed by darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter updates will now be more spread out, but I will try to post chapters 2-3 times a week!


	4. The Mindscape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz enters the Mindscape.

Luz opened her eyes and blearily glanced around to take in her surroundings, or the lack thereof. There was nothing in sight. That was, until she turned around.

“Whaaaaaa—?” Luz mumbled, rubbing her eyes and squinting at the door. _Yep. It’s still there,_ she thought. As she neared it, she realized that the door was vaguely familiar.

It was a simple wooden door with dark metal handles to boot, but the strangest part was that there was a gaping hole in the upper-center part of the door. She gripped the golden handle and wrenched the door open. As soon as she walked through the door, it slammed shut behind her.

_Huh. Well that’s not good,_ Luz mused. Suddenly, dim orbs of light materialized in front of her, lighting up a path like will o'wisps. They illuminated a path upstairs and out of sight, which piqued Luz’s curiosity. So, she did what any person would, and followed the ominous trail. 

—

She crept up the creaky stairs to meet a sinister corridor with yet another door at the end. She had a bad feeling in her gut, but she only had one option: enter the room. So, she made her way down the dimly-lit hallway and opened the door.

On the other side, she found a haphazardly-constructed nest. Just staring at the nest triggered her instincts to flee, but she crept forward, despite her mind screaming at her not to. 

Inside the nest was her mentor, Eda, resting peacefully. Luz relaxed her body. _See, nothing’s wrong! It’s fine!_

Everything was not fine.

As soon as she turned away from the human-sized nest, a spirit clawed its way out of Eda’s body and emitted a low growl. Luz froze and slowly swiveled around. The feathery creature that was looming over Luz had black, vacant eyes, long, pointed ears, and a scrunched-up, scowling face. 

“Eda? Is that you?” Luz whispered. The beast responded with a guttural roar, flashing its jagged teeth.

_Nope. Time to run._

Luz sprinted towards the door, but it slammed shut, knocking her to the ground in the process.

“Ow! Rude!” She complained, but quickly scrambled to her feet, remembering that the Owl Beast was chasing her. 

She grabbed the doorknob and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. _Come on!! Work with me!!_ Luz increasingly became more panicked as she tried to yank the door open, knowing that It was only meters away. She could hear the monster screeching as it lunged at her, and she ducked just in time. The creature was sent crashing through the door, busting a giant hole through it. _Well, that’s one way to open it._ She peeked through the gaping hole to see the giant feathery beast curled in on itself, whimpering in pain.

“Oh no Eda! Don’t worry, I’ll help you!” Luz exclaimed, as she began to climb through the hole. It was rather jagged around the edges, but Luz was small enough to get through without any scratches. As she approached the owl beast, she realized it didn’t look exactly like Eda’s owl beast form. _Huh, that’s weird, I could have sworn…_ she trailed off as the owl beast stopped whimpering and started growling.

“Eda…?”

Luz reached towards her, but suddenly the beast snapped its head up to directly glare at Luz. Luz sucked in air as the monster started creeping towards her, and Luz backed up right into a corner. 

“Eda, this isn’t you! You know me!” Luz pleaded, but this fell on deaf ears. The beast’s face was only inches away, and Luz could see the fury boiling inside its black eyes. The beast let out a guttural roar, spit flying from its mouth unto Luz, who would be disgusted if she wasn’t absolutely terrified. The beast’s gaping mouth shot forward and she screamed, blacking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will now occur weekly until I finish college applications (probably on Wednesday but no promises).


	5. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lilith gets beat up, and Luz has a panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// There is a panic attack near the end (starting when Luz shouts)

Luz shot up screaming and panting. Her eyes were squeezed shut and cold sweat was formed in beads on her forehead. 

She hesitated to open her eyes due to the bright sky, but then she heard Eda groan, and opened her eyes to see Eda lethargically rising to her feet.

“Eda! You’re cured!” Luz blurted out, beaming. Eda, however, narrowed her eyes. 

“What do you mean, cured? How was I cured?” 

Lilith winced, and this did not go unnoticed by Eda.

“Lily, **_what happened?_ **” Eda gritted out.

“...I performed the spell of transferation to remove your curse and restore your magic” Lilith explained cautiously.

Eda glanced down at her once-black gem and found that it was returned to its golden coloration. This did not ease her worries at all.

“Why?” Eda uttered, clenching her shaking fists.

“Why… what?” Lilith asked, confused.

Eda couldn’t take it anymore. “ **_WHY DID YOU GIVE MY CURSE TO LUZ?!_ **” she angrily screamed. Luz and King fidgeted uncomfortably as they watched the scene unfold.

Lilith just gaped, dumbfounded. “I restored your powers! Isn’t this what you wanted?” 

Eda venomously glared at Lilith. Lilith gulped. _If looks could kill._

“You _really_ think that’s what I _wanted_?” Eda spat, taking a step forward.

Lilith backed up, stammering, “W-well, I thought--”

Eda cut her off, “ **_Wrong_ **.” Her eyes sparked with a vibrant yellow as she summoned her staff. Lilith looked appalled.

“Sister, let’s be reasonable--”

“ **_Don’t_ ** call me sister. You lost that privilege” Eda scowled. Eda slammed her staff into the dirt, causing Owlbert to flare his wings. Her magic flowed limitlessly, as if a dam broke. Now without the curse, Eda had complete access to powers. Yet, this gave her no satisfaction, as Luz now had her curse. Which Lily gave her. _She is going to pay._

“I **_never_ ** cared about power or status _Lily_ ,” Eda shouted as she flung a beam of magical energy towards Lilith, who blocked it with her blue forcefield. 

“I gave up my spot in the Emperor’s Coven for _you_ , and how did you repay me?!” Eda boomed, lashing out again, this time striking Lilith. She crashed against a tree and collapsed to the ground, coughing harshly.

Luz gasped. “Eda stop!” she pleaded, but Eda couldn’t hear her over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. King tried to get to Eda, but turbulent winds picked up by Eda’s power and flung him into the ground.

Lilith wheezed, “I’m sorry, Eda--”

“ **Sorry doesn’t cut it.** ”

Eda was furious. She stalked toward Lilith.

“You then spent years hunting me, trying to force me to join a coven.” Eda sent Lilith flying into another tree, and Lilith didn’t even bother fighting back. _I deserve this_.

“And now,” Eda paused, standing over Lilith, “Luz has my curse.”

Lilith glanced up to meet Eda’s eyes to see that there was only rage.

“You ruined my life, and you ruined my only semblance-of-a-daughter’s life. And now, **I will ruin yours.** ” Eda reeled back her staff to strike Lilith. 

Luz couldn’t take this anymore. Her heart was pounding and adrenaline flooded her senses as she roared, “ **STOP IT! S-STOP--stop--** ” 

Her chest constricted and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She clawed at her neck and slumped to the ground. Tears pricked her eyes as her vision blinked in and out. She saw Eda and King rush over in a panic. Lilith remained frozen at the base of the tree, battered and bruised, but had a concerned look on her face.

“Luz-- can y--hear me?” Eda’s voice was distant. Her head felt clouded. She tilted her head back at the sky, and she made a gurgling sound. Eda grabbed her head and pulled it towards her. Her eyes slightly refocused. 

“Hey, don’t do that. Listen to me, breathe in…. And out” Eda instructed, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Luz took a shaky breath in and out.

“That’s good. Now follow my breathing, ok?” Eda proceeded to breathe in and out. Luz attempted to replicate her breathing. After a minute of unsteady breaths, Luz finally whispered in a hoarse voice,

“ _I’m sorry._ ”

Eda frowned, lines etching into her face. “You have nothing to be sorry for, kid. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me.”

Luz didn’t respond, just snuggling up closer to Eda and closing her eyes. Her breathing slowly evened out, and she looked peaceful despite what happened only moments earlier.

Eda smiled, but she was far from happy.

_I’m sorry kid._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am almost done with my first college application! WOOOOOO! Updates will still be weekly until I finish, and of course, comments are appreciated (as well as advice for how to lengthen chapters)!!


	6. The Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz has another dream, then wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I forgot to update it yesterday, but here it is now!

_ She was running again, this time though the forest. Her legs were burning and her lungs on fire, but the Thing was right on her heels. She didn’t dare to turn around; she heard the breath of the monster on her neck. She bobbed and weaved through the trees to try and shake the monster off of her trail, but she suddenly tripped on a root which sent her sprawling on the ground in a heap. Luz groaned, gripping her concussed head. The monster slowed and circled around Luz, seeing that its prey was incapacitated. Then it stopped to pin her to the ground, a snarl on its owlish face. Luz squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating what would happen. _

_ Nothing did. _

—

Luz opened her eyes in confusion, only to shut them quickly after being blinded by the light from outside. _Where am I?_ _And why is it so bright?_ She slowly opened her eyes to a squint and surveyed the small room. Then it clicked— she was in her room! She vaguely remembered that Eda carried her into her room and (carefully) plopped her into her sleeping bag. Luz smiled. _Thanks Eda._ Luz yawned deeply and arched her back, stretching her upper body and arms. Then she stood up, rubbing the blurriness out of her eyes, only to feel something sharp. _Huh?_ Luz wondered as she stared at her open palms. When she turned her hands over, she gasped. On each of her fingers featured a wicked-sharp black nail, resembling talons. She blinked, and her mind went blank. _What the h—?_ She scrambled to her feet and swung the door open, which narrowly missed King.

“Oh hey Luz! I was just gonna check on yo— wait where are you going?” 

Luz didn’t respond, as her mind and heart was racing. She quickly entered the bathroom and closed the door, locking it behind her.

_ Please be wrong please be wrong. _

She steeled her nerves and glanced at the mirror. She widened her eyes at her disheveled reflection.

_ No no nonono this can’t be happening.  _

King scratched and pounded on the door “Luz! Is something wrong?”

Luz swallowed, despite her dry throat, in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves.

“Yeah I’m fine!” Luz croaked. “Just going to the bathroom.”

A pause.

“Well ok, I’ll just be downstairs…” King trailed off. 

Luz waited to hear King’s pattering feet fade, then she stared at the mirror again. She was met with a shocking image. Her once-round ears were now slightly pointed, albeit less pointy than a witch’s, and her eyes were more dilated than normal. In fact, the brown irises were barely visible. She opened her mouth and ran her tongue over her teeth, finding that she also had two small fangs in place of her canines.  _ Ok, this is different.  _ She ran her fingers through her hair and it felt a lot fluffier than usual.  _ Huh. That’s weird.  _ She put her hands down to see several feathers stuck to them.

“Oh.” 

Luz shook her hands free of the feathers and turned on the sink faucet to splash water in her face.  _ Ok Luz, think. Eda already feels terrible, so I need to cover this up.  _ Luz grabbed a hand towel to dry off her face, then she silently exited the bathroom.  _ Alright, so I have pointy ears and feathery hair, how can I hide this?  _ She crept until her room and scoured the numerous piles of human artifacts. She sifted through the objects one at a time, seeing if there was a viable option.  _ No, no… definitely no… not that… aHA! Perfecto! _ Luz brandished a maroon beanie and slipped it on, adjusting it to cover her hair and ears. It was a loose fit, but it worked. Deeming her appearance acceptable, she left her room and marched downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished my first college application!! Wooooooo! Unfortunately, this means that there was a large gap between my writing for this story, so I might have to skip a week eventually.


	7. First Artwork!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I drew partially-cursed Luz based off of the descriptions last chapter! Hope you enjoy

<https://yogabigabba123.tumblr.com/post/634051020444598273/this-is-a-drawing-of-cursed-luz-based-off-my>

Ok, I think this will finally work without privacy issues!


	8. The Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz gets caught and put on house arrest; Lilith tries to be a mom.

Luz casually sauntered into the room to greet everyone, and King noticed right away. 

“Luuuuz!” he cheered, scrambling off the couch with a plop and charged at Luz with his paws extended. Lilith was also seated on the couch, but she idly stared at the ground, not saying a word. Her face was bruised and swollen, which explained her silence. Luz grimaced out of sympathy, but brought her attention back to King.

“Hello King” Luz smiled, lifting him up into the air and hugging him tightly. 

The door burst open, and Hooty screeched “HOOT HOOT! Were you gonna say hi to meeeeeee?” 

“Can it Hooty!” Eda shouted from the kitchen, and Hooty recoiled, muttering in a high-pitched voice, “hmph! Fine then! I’ll just watch the houuuse.”

Eda sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Then her attention shifted as she glanced back up.

“Oh hey Luz! How ya feeling kiddo?” she asked nonchalantly, though with a hint of concern. 

“I feel great!” Luz lied, setting King down, who “Weh?!”-ed in protest. “I can’t wait to go to school today and learn all about magic!” She lept into the air pumping her fist and did a little twirl. She suddenly felt a rush of air sweep through her hair. Eda’s eyebrows shot up as Luz hurriedly snatched the beanie up and shoved it onto her head.

“ _ Luz, _ ” Eda demanded, “take it off and let me see what you are hiding.” Luz winced, hesitating, to which Eda scowled and marched over to Luz. Tugging the beanie off, Eda’s eyes widened as she saw feathers in her hair. Eda dropped the beanie and hastily inspected Luz. She smoothed past Luz’s feathery hair to discover pointed ears, she then grabbed one of her hands and saw black talons in the place of fingernails. All the while, Luz was grimacing in shame and guilt. Eda frowned deeply.

“When did this happen?”

Luz gulped. “Well, I’m not sure exactly when, but I woke up to  _ this _ ,” Lux explained, gesturing at herself. Eda shot a deadly glare at Lilith, who tensed up and glanced away, an apology dying on her tongue.

“Well kiddo, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re gonna have to stay home until I get the ingredients to make a cure. Unfortunately, that’ll take a few days since my former, errrr, supplier is unavailable” Eda stated. 

Luz pouted, “Awww why? You don’t even know if I can completely transform or not!”

Eda rolled her eyes, remarking, “Well, that could be true, but I would rather not hear that you tore up the school or ate a kid.”

Luz choked, “what--?”

“Nah kid I’m just kidding with you,” Eda smirked. _ Kind of. _ “But what’s a few days missed? C’mon kid, and sure you could use some extra rest and adjustment to your current… condition. I’m sure you’ll check up no problem with your work ethic!”

Luz sighed, “well, I guess you’re right…”

“That’s the spirit!” Eda exclaimed, roughing up Luz’s hair. “Now I gotta go scavenging for gillybeard mushrooms and bogart tongues. They are  _ incredibly _ rare, so I best be going.” Eda grabbed a leather satchel full of foreign devices and summoned her staff. As she walked out the door, she yelled, “King and Hooty, you’re in charge of Luz! Keep an eye on Lilith as well!” And with that, she zoomed off on her broom. 

Hooty squealed, “Aww yeahhhhhh! Eda put me in charge! I’m a big boy house!”

King cleared his throat and corrected, “actually, we are both in charge.”

Hooty cheerfully ignored him and speedily wrapped around Lilith to constrict her. Hooty cooed, “Eda says I have to keep an eyeee on youuuu, so we are going to be best buddies forever and forever, HOOT!” Lilith groaned, and Luz had to stifle a laugh.

“Welllll I’m gonna go on a walk!!” Luz declared as she made her way towards the open door, only for it to slam shut in her face and abruptly be lifted up in the air.

“Sorry Luuuuuz, no can do,” Hooty cawed, squishing Luz, “boss’s orders!”

Luz squirmed to try to break free, only to give up seconds later. “Aw come on guys I just want to get some fresh air!” She complained. 

King rolled his eyes and waved his little paw, “oh we all know that you were gonna sneak off to that soul-sucking prison that you call  _ school _ .”

“Fine, you caught me,” Luz admitted. “Can you let me go now, I’ll be a good boo-boo buddy!” Luz gave King an unconvincing smile.

“Boo-boo buddy or not, I’m still gonna keep an eye on you! You can call me the King of babysitting!” King gloated and hopped onto the couch, striking a pose. “However, I am going to take a nap,” King proclaimed in a regal voice, puffing his chest out. “Hooty, I trust that you can watch these two prisoners?”

Hooty saluted with his body and barked out, “Huah sarge! These two won’t leave my sight!” He twisted around and cackled, “I’ll be watching you two like a HAWK! CAW CAW” He proceeded to violently shake them to make a point, causing both captives to groan and clutch their now-nauseous stomachs. 

_ This’ll be a long couple of days _ .

  
  


\-- Hours later--

  
  


“So you... live here?” Lilith hesitantly questioned, her voice hoarse and strained. King was fast asleep, and Hooty was uncharacteristically silent, eyeing them from a few feet away.

“Yup,” Luz emphasized, popping the p. 

Lilith glanced around the living room, which proudly displayed stacks of human trash, or as Eda called it, treasure. “It’s… cozy.” Lilith remarked. 

Luz nodded, closing her eyes. “It feels like home to me.” 

Lilith eyed her curiously. “Really? This fantastical, nightmarish world feels like home?” 

Luz paused, considering her next words. “Well, I mean that I truly feel accepted here. Back  _ home home _ , I was the ‘weird kid’ who everyone avoided like the plague, but here… people have accepted me.” Luz shrugged, her eyes downcast. “Sometimes, I feel like this is more of a home than my actual one. I know that mi Mami tries to help me, but it only makes me feel worse. ”

Lilith didn’t know how to respond to this. She has had no experience trying to console a teenager. In fact, she had spent years avoiding interactions with them, save for Amity Blight (and she screwed that up after cheating at the Witches’ duel, whether it was warranted or not). Lilith sighed and decided to go with her gut, and placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder. Luz flinched, and her head shot up out of surprise. 

“I get where you are coming from,” Lilith sympathized. 

Luz’s eyes widened, “Really? You, the ultra-powerful witch, were an outcast?”

Lilith briefly nodded, “In a way. You know, I wasn’t always powerful. In fact, I was quite the opposite. In school, I was ridiculed for my lack of talent. Nobody wanted to befriend a nobody like me, Clawthorne or not. Luckily, I had Eda… she helped me get better at casting spells, and thanks to her, I was able to join the Emperor’s Coven.

“I guess Eda really is a great mentor, isn’t she?” Luz wondered out loud.

Lilith smiled sadly, “Yes, yes she is.”  _ No thanks to me. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo! Longest one yet (about 1,000 words)! I might skip next week’s update because I am out of written chapters (we will see)...


	9. Hexside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catching up with Willow, Gus, and Amity! (And a short segment with Luz that leads to the next chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer than usual wait, but hope you enjoy— comments are also appreciated!

_**POV— Willow**_

_It was 8:27 am on a Monday, and Willow was standing in front of Hexside High, waiting for her friends to arrive._

Willow frowned. _Usually Luz would be here right now…_

“Hiya Willow!” Gus shouted, seemingly popping out of nowhere. In fact, he literally appeared out of nowhere (thanks to his illusionist magic). However, Willow didn’t react to this. Gus studied her concentrated face, then he realized, _ohhhh, she must be thinking about something important._

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” he asked, nudging Willow in her side. Willow blinked, breaking out of her thought-trance.

“Oh, sorry!” Willow smiled sheepishly, “I was just wondering why Luz isn’t here yet. She usually is the first one to greet us. Maybe something happened?”

Gus gasped, “oh! Maybe she got a human disease, like the Black Death! I read about this disease in a human sickness book a while back, and I saw that it is pre-tty gruesome.”

Willow deadpanned. “I’m not sure--”

“Oh look, it’s Amity! Maybe she knows what’s up with Luz.” Gus exclaimed, pointing out the green-haired witch. Amity was walking up the steps with her books clutched close to her chest, and Gus frantically waved at her. Amity noticed the wild motion and politely waved back, walking up to them. 

“Hi guys,” Amity smiled, slightly glancing around. _Where is Luz?_

Willow knowingly smiled back, but Gus was ever-oblivious.

“Hey Amity!” Gus grinned, “Do you know where Luz is?”

Amity almost choked, and her face heated up. “N-no I don’t…” Amity stuttered out, trying to regain her composure. 

“Oh shoot! That’s a shame. Hopefully nothing bad happened to her.” Gus pouted with a thoughtful expression on his face, zoning out.

Willow inwardly giggled at how flustered her friend was. Amity locked eyes with Willow and glowered at her, which made Willow smirk even bigger. 

Suddenly, the face-off was halted when Gus declared, “We should visit Luz after school today! I’ll meet you guys back here right after school if you guys want!”

Willow broke eye-contact with Amity to look at Gus, saying “oh yeah we totally should! Does that work with you, _Amity?_ ”

Amity gulped, “Uh, yeah, that should work with me. I just have to tell the twins that I’m not going home right away.”

The school bell screamed, effectively cutting off their conversation (and all conversations for that matter). “Sweet!” Gus called out, tightening his book bag straps, “I’ll see you guys later!”

Willow gave Amity one last look, then responded, “Yeah I’ll see you guys then,” leaving Amity alone at the front of the school to process what she agreed to. Then it hit her that she was going to be late to her first class if she didn’t get going, so she marched into school at a brisk pace.

  
  


_**POV SWITCH— Amity**_

  
  


Amity’s foot was twitching and she could not concentrate one bit. Sure, it was her favorite abominations class, but her mind was on something else; Or rather, _someone_ else. Despite the teacher passionately demonstrating unique casting techniques, Amity thought about Luz. _I wonder what happened to her… she never would skip school unless it were for a valid reason…_ Amity continued to worry about what happened to Luz until she was jolted out of her thoughts by none other than the professor himself.

“Amity Blight, would you care to demonstrate?” 

Amity grimaced, as she had not been paying attention. “Which... technique?”

The professor eyed her suspiciously, then responded: “the wave method.”

Amity exhaled in relief. _Good thing I researched this method in the library a few weeks ago._ She walked to the front of the class with her abomination pot in tow, then set it down. She took a breath to compose herself, then she mentally reached inside herself to unlock her magic. Once she accomplished this, she took off the lid and waved her arm over the pot, imbuing her magic into the goopy liquid. In mere seconds, the liquid started rumbling, and an abomination rose from the pot. The abomination let out a low, zombie-like groaning noise, and lazily blinked it’s several eyes. 

The professor cheered, “yes, exactly like that! Thank you Amity for that brilliant demonstration.”

Amity nodded and closed her pot after dispelling her abomination, then wheeled it back to her spot. She checked the clock, and it read 5 minutes until the end of the class. She sighed. _Today is going to be a long day._

  
  


_**POV SWITCH— Luz**_

  
  


“Hooty! I really need to use the bathroom, can you let me go?” Luz pleaded.

Hooty twirled around, “hmmmmMMMmmm I don’t knoOw, can I?”

Luz fixed him with a pout, and Hooty conceded. “Alriiiiight” He promptly dropped Luz to the ground, and she landed with a thud. “Don’t be too looooOng, like me!”

Luz turned around and raced to the upstairs bathroom, with Hooty trailing closely behind with a cartoonish grin on his face. “Hoohoohoo, get it, because I’m—“ Luz slammed the door in Hooty’s face, who squawked in surprise. “OoWWW that huURt” Hooty whined, but he got the message and withdrew his body. 

Luz glanced once again at her disheveled appearance, noting what she needed to work on, then she checked the clock. _10:00 am. Ok! So it’ll take me a bit to walk to the school, which means I’ll make it just around lunchtime. Perfect! I can get the assignments from my teachers AND see my friends!_

Luz got to work, smoothing down her fluffier-than-normal hair, only to find that her hair feathers puffed up even more. _Well, that’s a problem._ Luz pulled out the maroon beanie that she snatched off the floor from earlier and pulled it over her head, adjusting it until it completely covered her ears and hair. Deeming her appearance acceptable (and verifying that the beanie wouldn’t fly off again), she turned her attention to the window. _Here goes nothing._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m starting another fic (this time in the Kipo department)— it is OC-centric but I think the plot will be very interesting. I’ll let you guys know when I post the first few chapters (and I’ll give you a brief description here as well).


	10. Off to Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz goes to school and finds her friends (Also, stan lumity).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! School is really destroying me, sorry for the late update again! I will probably shift to updating every 2 weeks unless if I have a spark of motivation. Anyways, enjoy, and comments are much appreciated!

King yawned, smacking his lips loudly. He blinked his bleary eyes to clear his vision, then he glanced around the room absentmindedly. Hooty was near the stairs with Lilith wrapped up in his body, like how a basilisk would constrict their prey. She looked rather bored, so King decided to have some fun by messing with her.

“Hey Eda’s not-sister, how’s it hanging?” He smirked. Lilith scowled, “you can put me down now. I’m going to do anything.”

King acted like he was considering this, tapping his claws on his chin. “Mmmmm, no I don’t think so. Not until Eda gets home. I don’t want to be responsible for your escape.”

Lilith shrugged, “fair enough. But I’m not the one you should be worried about.”

Her words sunk in, and the realization hit him. _Luz!_

King bellowed, “HOOTY! WHERE IS LUZ?!?!” Hooty reeled his body in like a fishing rod so his face appeared. 

“She’s in the baaAthroom” Hooty drawled, and almost as if on cue, they heard a thud. 

“You idiot! There’s a window!” King shouted as he raced upstairs with Hooty right behind him. King attempted to reach the doorknob, but he was too short.

“NYEH! Somebody open the door!” King demanded. Lilith offered, “I can.” King just frantically nodded, and Hooty set her down. Lilith twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. 

— 

Luz hit the ground running, adrenaline dulling the pain of the impact. She made it to the forest line, but she continued to sprint through the trees. Her brain told her that she was safe, but her body would not stop. Her legs were burning, but they continued to carry her all the way to the school. Once she caught a glimpse of the school, she collapsed, panting from exertion.

As she was catching her breath, she glanced down at the clock, which read 10:45 am. _Ok, so I have 45 minutes to kill until lunch._ Luz surveyed her surroundings, taking in the massive trees. She grinned, gears turning in her head. She pulled out some papers and her trusty pencil and got to work.

  
  


_—45 minutes later—_

  
  


Amity sputtered on her apple blood juice box as Luz walked into the cafeteria.

“Luz?!” She whisper-shouted to Willow and Gus, who were sitting at the same table. Their heads shot up in surprise, “Luz is here? Where?” They looked around, but they couldn’t spot Luz’s short brown hair. 

Willow glanced back at Amity. “Are you sure you didn’t just—“

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Luz landed on the table screaming, lights exploding in her friends’ eyes. Amity jumped so high that she fell backwards off her seat, and Gus flung his apple blood across the cafeteria, hitting another student square in the face, causing them to swear violently. Willow looked rather unfazed, save for her raised eyebrows.

Luz cracked up, doubling over and clutching her stomach. “Hhhooooohhh I really got you guys good didn’t I?” The whole cafeteria was looking in her direction, disturbed by the sudden outburst. Luz, however, was unbothered and oblivious to this as she continued to cackle at her shell shocked friends. Luz exhaled a shaky breath, wiping away a tear of laughter. 

“How did you even do that?” Amity asked as she collected herself and sat back in her seat. Luz smirked, “Glad you asked! I used an ice glyph to launch myself into the air,” Luz paused, pointing at the random ice pillar 10 feet away. “Then I slapped two light glyphs to the bottom of my shoes and BOOM! Lights!!” Luz summarized with a proud expression on her face.

“Well that’s great, but where were you this morning?” Willow questioned. Gus chimed in, “yeah, we thought you had the plague!” Luz paused, a pained expression appearing on her face then disappearing in an instant. Willow, ever intuitive, spotted this and planned to corner her later to ask her what really happened. Apparently Amity also picked up on this, and they exchanged worried glances.

“Oh nothing! I just forgot to set my alarm and I slept in!” Luz lied with a forced smile. 

Willow nodded in response, and they returned to their food. Luz’s stomach growled, and she smiled sheepishly as her friends looked at her. 

“I guess I forgot my lunch…” Luz admitted. Amity eagerly blurted, “you can have some of mine!” Amity handed her half of a sandwich. “You can have some of mine too!” Willow and Gus added, giving her an apple and a cookie respectively.

Luz’s voice got watery, and she sniffed, “thank you guys so much! You guys are the best!” 

“Don’t mention it! What are friends for?” Willow voiced.

Luz beamed, then she bit into the sandwich. It could be the fact that she was starving, but the sandwich was _amazing._ Luz mumbled through her full mouth, “Amity jhis ish sho good!” She swallowed her bite before adding, “Did you make this yourself?”

“Thank you Luz. And yes I did.” Amity blushed lightly. 

“It’s amazing! Thank you so much!” Luz reached out and hugged Amity, whose face and ears burned a scarlet red as she limply sat there. Willow just sat there, watching with amusement, and Gus was busy duplicating Luz’s cookie. The bell rang signaling the passing period, and Amity cleared her throat, “we should probably go…” 

Luz startled and pulled back, “oh right! Off to 4th period!” She went to grab her backpack, but realized that she forgot that too. _Whoops, looks like I’ll be writing on my glyphs today!_

“Onward, to class!” Luz declared, but then Willow called after her, “Meet us after school at the front, 3:05 pm!” Luz simply nodded and waved as she exited the cafeteria. Amity and Willow once again exchanged glances as the three went to exit the cafeteria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My OC-centric Kipo Fic is still is the works— I will probably start posting chapters by the end of the year!!


	11. Agony of An Apprentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No summary for this one :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I decided to move the chapter to Christmas Day as a little gift for you guys (and it’s my longest chapter yet)! Anyways, enjoy!

4th and 5th period passed in a blink of an eye for Luz, who was easily captivated by the magical lore and spells of each class. However, there was an intangible feeling at the back of her head, but every time she tried to discern it, it would float beyond her grasp. She shrugged, making a mental note to ask Amity later if there were any mysterious creatures or haunting ghosts that could follow a human. Speaking of Amity, she bumped right into her as she was nearing the abominations classroom. 

“Oomph!” 

“Hey watch where you’re going— o-oh it’s you Luz.” Amity stumbled through her words, trying to be nonchalant but her mild blush betraying her. 

“Hey Amity! Ready for class? I’m so excited to finally try to make an abomination!!” Luz exclaimed, wiggling her fingers.

Amity smiled. “I like your enthusiasm, but it might be a bit hard without… you know,” Amity pointed near her heart, where the magic bile sack would be.

“Oh Amity, you should know by now that my ‘lack of magical abilities’ won't stop me,” Luz smirked with half-lidded eyes. 

_Is she flirting with me?!_ Amity looked away as she was internally screaming; luckily, the 6th period bell saved her. Luz took this opportunity to interlock arms with Amity and drag her into class with a confident grin. 

Once they entered class and sat down, the abominations professor began his introduction. Luz keenly watched while Amity was vaguely paying attention, yet she kept stealing glances of Luz. She noticed the way she fidgeted with her pencil, the way she squirmed in her seat, the way her— Amity tore her eyes away, chiding herself for not paying attention. However, she did find it interesting that her ears were twitching under her beanie. _Is that a human thing?_ Amity wondered. She also wondered why Luz was wearing a beanie, since she never had before— not that Amity was paying that close attention to Luz! Of course not.

Luz realized that Amity was staring at her, so she leaned over and discreetly asked, “Whatcha lookin’ at?” Amity startled, stuttering, “oh, uh, nothing!” She forced a smile and Luz raised an eyebrow, not buying it. “Well, uh, I was just curious as to why you’re wearing a beanie.” Amity admitted. Luz once again masked her surprise, save for the twitch of her ears. “I— well, my head was cold…” Luz internally winced at how bad her lie was. “So I found this beanie and boom! Viola,” Luz finished. 

Amity looked out the window to see the sun shining strongly. She whispered “Uhhhh Luz? It’s pretty warm—”

“And now it’s time for you to mix up your own abominations! Have fun, and you have the rest of class to finish— this is for a grade!” The teacher claimed, and the whole class groaned. Luz on the other hand was grateful for this change of subject and got to work, leaving Amity to stew in her confusion.

—

At the end of the period, Luz had mixed her abomination pot and received a decent grade, while Amity automatically passed just because she was in the advanced class as well. The final bell rang and the teacher frantically called out, “put your cauldrons in the back and label them please!” Of course, some students already left, but Luz wheeled her abomination to the back and scrawled her name on it in loopy lettering. Amity was waiting patiently for her at the front, then they walked out of class together. 

“That was awesome! I’m so glad that I’m finally trying out abominations!” Luz happily expressed. “Soon I’ll be the master of all elements!” She tried posing, but the chaotic crowd surged forward, nearly knocking her over. Amity smiled at her antics. However, the crowd was getting quite unbearable, so Luz grabbed Amity’s hand, ignoring her protests, and pulled her to one of the secret doors in the girl’s locker room. 

“What are we doing? Aren’t we supposed to meet up with Willow and Gus at the front?” Amity inquired. Luz answered, “of course, but I figured a shortcut would come in handy!” Before Amity could wonder what this shortcut was, Luz began to knock on the lockers until she hit a particularly hollow-sounding one. She grinned and pried at the edges of the locker, and the locker magically burst open. 

“Tada! Secret tunnel,” Luz sang with jazz hands.

Amity knew that she should have been amazed, but she was flooded with panic. _Was that what the noise was?!_

“Pretty cool right?” 

Amity blinked. “Uh, yeah, it’s awesome!”

“Let’s go!” Luz exclaimed, grabbing her hand _again_ and pulling her along. 

They entered the giant, tower-like room with a variety of doors ranging from the size of a mouse to a ten foot door, all with unique patterns, colors, and shapes. 

“How did you know about this place?” 

Luz led her up a flight of stairs and walked to an arch-shaped burgundy door. “Bump allowed me access to this room because I’m a multitrack student. But some people showed me the passage while I was in the detention track! They are really cool, I’ll have to introduce you sometime. Their names are Viney, Jerbo, and Barkus! Viney has this wicked fish hook earring, and she does healing and beast keeping. Jerbo is—” Luz rambled on, but Amity was lost, and quite frankly, she was distracted by Luz. Luz was _still_ talking excitedly as they exited the secret room of shortcuts into the main hallway, and Amity was watching— not listening— her intently. Luckily, the halls were cleared out, so they could walk in peace. Amity again noticed Luz’s weird ear movements, so she slowly reached for the hat.

Luz stopped walking and scowled. It took a moment for Amity to register what just happened, but then she realized. 

“Ew, it’s the weird human and the disgraced _Blight._ ” 

Boscha.

She stalked closer with a smug look on her face and Skara in tow. “Wow, I can’t believe a _Blight_ would hang out with you, the _Luz_ er,” Boscha drawled. Skara looked mildly uncomfortable, but she didn’t say anything or try to get Boscha to stop. Luz just stood there with a clenched jaw as Amity began to sputter, “Hey! Well she’s—“

Boscha shushed Amity with a finger on her lips. “Eh-eh-eh, _you_ don’t talk for her, and I don’t want to hear it anyways.” She shifted her three-eyed gaze towards Luz. 

“Well, say something! Defend yourself.” Boscha commanded. 

“No.”

“What did you say?” Boscha demanded.

Luz looked at her squarely in the face. “No. I will not play your game and satisfy your twisted mind” Luz hissed through clenched teeth. 

Boscha made an offended noise. “This won’t do,” she muttered, and abruptly shoved Luz to the ground. Amity and Skara gasped and stepped towards Luz while Boscha held a prideful expression on her face. Amity was about to ask if Luz was ok, but growling cut through the air like a knife. She snapped her head around to see if there was a creature that invaded the school, but… nothing. The sound was coming _from Luz_.

“Luz…?” Amity hesitated. Luz’s head whipped towards her own, and Amity was shocked to see canines jutting out from her quivering bottom lip. Her eyes were still chocolate brown, but tears began to form. Luz let out a pained scream and brought her head down as her body crunched and twisted through the transformation. Her body grew abnormally, talons burst from her nail beds, wings popped out with a sickening crack. Her screams turned into roars as she scraped the marble floor, producing a nail-on-chalkboards sound. Amity stepped back, genuinely frightened, but also concerned for her friend.

“Oh my Titan she’s a feathery freak too!” Boscha cried out as she ran away, terrified. Skara followed closely behind, but she glanced back with a half-worried, half-traumatized look on her face. Amity stayed put, a few feet away. 

Luz’s bodily transformation stopped, but she was trembling and whimpering in agony. 

“Luz?” 

Luz shot her head up and scrambled back, hitting a pillar. Her eyes were pitch black and tear marks stained her face. 

“Can you understand me?” Amity questioned, slowly stepping towards Luz. However, this clearly was not the right move, as it sent Luz in a state of panic, causing her to race out the front doors of the school. 

  
  


Amity was left speechless with the maroon beanie on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A comment a day keeps the writer’s block away :) 
> 
> And I love reading your thoughts and theories, and feel free to suggest anything (fic prompts and such, you know)!


	12. Owl Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Owl beast and Lumity angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I just finished writing this chapter 5 minutes ago so it probably shows, but hope you enjoy! Also, thank you for feeding my soul with your kind comments! I appreciate it a lot :)

“What’s taking them so long?” Willow asked nervously. She knew that Luz was hiding something, her late arrival and shifty behavior being the key clues, but what? And why would she need to?

Gus was swinging his legs on the stair railing. “Good question! One I do not know the answer to however,” Gus stated, pensively stroking his chin. 

Suddenly they heard an ear-piercing screech, which sent Gus and Willow in disarray. Before they could even speak, they saw a large feathery creature dart out of the front doors and into the surrounding forest.

_What in the Boiling Isles?!?_

Willow and Gus’s heads snapped back to the front of the school when they heard shouting. Amity appeared in the doorway with a shocked expression on her face, like she had seen a giraffe. 

“What was that?!” they shrieked, but Amity only shook her head then took off after the beast. Willow and Gus stood there speechless for a few moments, but then their curiosity got the better of them and they followed closely behind.

—

Amity swerved between the trees, following the path of broken branches and flattened bushes. However, the wreckage suddenly ended, and Amity was left in the forest with no lead.

“LUZ?!” She desperately called out, but she heard nothing. It’s almost as if Luz disappeared out of thin air… which is technically possible, but she wasn’t sure if Luz could… _that’s beside the point,_ Amity thought, shaking her head. She glanced around if she could discern any traces of Luz. Then, Amity spotted some small brown feathers on the ground, which trailed off to the left of the dead end. _Bingo._

Amity quietly trailed after the feathers until she finally picked up hushed whimpering. Creeping closer, she glimpsed Luz’s hunched, owl-like form from behind the bushes. She was trembling with her hands gripped tightly around herself, as if she was holding herself together. Amity was hit by a wave of guilt, even though she had no idea how this happened. She debated whether to show herself or sneak up on Luz, and decided that surprising Luz in this state would probably not be the best idea. So, Amity stepped into the clearing and softly spoke, 

“Luz?”

Luz tensed, and her head whipped towards Amity. Empty yet scared eyes greeted Amity’s, as well as a tear-stricken face.

“Luz, it’s me, Amity… do you recognize me?” Amity hesitantly asked, stepping closer to the owl beast. She was close enough to touch Luz, close enough to wipe away those tears streaming down her face.

So she did.

She held Luz’s trembling face, and Luz melted into the touch. She whined as if she was apologizing, but Amity merely whispered, “Shhhhh... it’s ok, you’re safe now.” She shifted her arms to hug Luz, and Luz squeezed her back. Very tightly. After a few moments, Amity choked out, “I’m glad that you recognize me but can you,” Amity paused, struggling to breathe, “put me down please?”

Luz made a gasping sound and released Amity, then sat back on her haunches with a seemingly sheepish expression on her face. Amity just chuckled at her. _Yep, that’s definitely Luz in there._

“Feel better?” 

The owl beast exaggeratingly nodded with a goofy (yet terrifying) grin. Amity smiled right back. “Good.”

Suddenly, they heard a snap of a branch as well as two voices.

“I think she went this way!” One said.

“Are you sure? It just feels like we are walking in circles!” The other complained. 

Amity relaxed— it was just Willow and Gus. However, Luz didn’t seem to recognize them, and she tensed up in preparation to run. Luckily, Amity caught Luz’s gnarled hand before she could take off again.

“Hey, it’s ok! They are our friends, remember?”

Luz only looked confused. Then, the two witchlings stepped into the clearing and Amity turned to explain things.

“Guys, don’t panic, this is—“

“AMITY WATCH OUT THE THING IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU!” Gus squealed and pointed, and the Owl Beast did NOT like that. It stepped in front of Amity and snarled at Gus and Willow. 

“Oh hoh hoh a challenge eyy? Well I accept!” Gus remarked and casted a cloning spell. “Don’t hurt our friend, creature! We mean you no harm.” Willow added, readying her plant magic. Luz’s wings unfurled to appear more intimidating before racing forward to attack.

“No stop!” Amity cried and threw herself in front of the Owl Beast in a split second decision, and thankfully the Beast ground its talons in the dirt to halt. Amity performed a light spell, and a pink orb of light rose up from her hands, entrancing the creature. The Owl Beast blinked twice and rubbed its eyes, then stared at the shiny light in awe. Amity wasn’t sure if Luz was in control, but at least that bought her time to explain.

“Stand down guys. That’s Luz.”

“WHAT?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be posting art based on this chapter later this week as well as a reference for Owl Beast Luz (I will actually post the reference along with this chapter)! Stay tuned for new art!


	13. Owl Beast Reference!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reference for Owl Beast Luz!

https://yogabigabba123.tumblr.com/post/639444564152877056/a-reference-for-owl-beast-luz-in-my-fanfic-this


	14. More Art!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again procrastination has postponed the chapter, but I will shower you with art! I will try to post the next chapter by Wednesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I had an idea to do some one shots branching off from this fic of Owl Beast Luz getting into trouble and what-not. I’ll gladly take requests/suggestions for these (can be angsty or fluffy or anything in between)!

https://yogabigabba123.tumblr.com/post/640979637240053760/screen-cap-for-a-moment-in-my-fic  
  


https://yogabigabba123.tumblr.com/post/640979842802843648/toh-au-art-dump-of-owl-beast-luz-i-was-too-lazy


	15. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad things happen.

“So you’re saying that creature is… Luz?” Willow questioned, frowning. 

“Yeah… I don’t really know how though. She just transformed after Boscha pushed her to the ground...” Amity glanced back at the transfixed owl beast, rubbing her arm. 

“Boscha pushed Luz?!” Gus exclaimed. “I should have known Boscha would do something like this…” Willow muttered with a scowl, then looked sadly at Luz, who was batting the light sphere between her claws excitingly.

“Do you think she’ll recognize us now that she’s calmed down?” Willow asked.

“Not sure, but it’s worth a try,” Amity responded pensively. She turned to Luz, who was currently gnawing on the light, and waved to get her attention. “Hey Luz, mind if I have that back?” 

Luz shuffled towards her and dropped the light orb onto Amity’s open hands with a grin, which caused Amity to shiver— the ball was coated in Luz’s saliva. Shaking off her disgust, she dispelled the light and motioned for Willow and Gus to come closer.

“Hi Luz! Do you… recognize us?” Willow hesitated. Luz’s head snapped up and her eyes darted between Willow and Gus as they stood deadly still. Then, Luz abruptly pounced onto the pair of witches, and they shrieked, squeezing their eyes shut bracing themselves for teeth or claws. Amity was shocked by the unexpected movement and moved to stop Luz, but then realized that they were completely fine. Willow and Gus nervously opened their eyes and unshielded their faces, which was all Luz needed and she started to lick their faces. 

“Ahhh! Luz stop, my glasses!” Willow exclaimed through uncontrollable giggles. “Luz have mercy!!” Gus squealed, completely soaked in spit. Luz then sat back on her haunches, grinning like an idiot. Luckily for them, removing the spit from their clothes only took a simple spell.

“So… what now? We can’t just leave Luz by herself,” Willow commented. Amity nodded. “We should probably go to the Owl House. We will probably have to explain things to the Owl Lady…”

And so they set off towards the Owl House.

—

Or they thought they were headed to the Owl House, but they were still wandering aimlessly through the trees. And it was getting dark.

“Are you sure it’s this way? I really thought it was the other—“

“Yes I swear it’s this way… somewhere,” Gus interjected less-than-confidently.

Luz was no help for directions, since she was chasing rats and other small critters scuttling around the forest floor. After disappearing for a few minutes, Luz happily trotted back with something in her mouth. Amity squinted at her to see a tail dangling out of her mouth and gasped.

“Spit that out Luz! You don’t know where that creature has—”

Luz slurped up the tail and swallowed the poor thing whole, and the three witches winced in disgust.

“Disgusting,” Amity mumbled, but her smile betrayed her. Luz made a broken trilling sound that sounded like a laugh, and the other witches just rolled their eyes at Luz’s antics. Luz’s ears suddenly perked up and she started growling at something behind them, causing them to tense up. 

“Luz?” They whispered, but Luz paid no attention to them and kept her glare firmly on the bushes. The bushes shook and a dark creature lunged towards the closest witch: Amity. Luz screeched and threw herself in front of Amity, forcing her back with her wings just as the creature tackled her. Sharp claws sliced through Luz’s plumage, causing her to howl in pain as she struggled to throw the smaller yet more nimble creature off her back. She then flared her wings out to push the monster off, then she whirled around and slashed its face. In combination with the newly activated lights created by the witches, the creature— a werewolf— whimpered and ran away with its tail tucked between its legs. Luz huffed in the direction of the werewolf, but then collapsed as the adrenaline rush dissipated. 

“Luz!!” They shouted, rushing to her aid. They saw numerous scratches and deep cuts and exchanged distressed expressions. Amity, being a clear and calculated thinker, took the initiative by saying, “We need to get Luz back to the Owl House quickly. Can you guys help me support her?” 

They silently nodded, and attempted to hoist Luz’s body up to be supported by their own. Unfortunately, this strained movement caused Luz to howl in pain and shrink into fetal position with her eyes squeezed shut. This made the witches increasingly anxious; they were lost in the middle of the forest, prone to any creature— just like the werewolf— who decided that they would make a good meal.

As if on cue, they heard numerous growls surrounding them.  _ Oh this is not good,  _ Amity thought, and Willow and Gus’s faces reflected the same.

They slowly backed up towards Luz and took on a defensive line position as the pack of werewolves advanced towards them, led by the very werewolf that attacked Luz earlier. They all had hungry looks and vengeance in their eyes, and the trio gulped. Unexpectedly, the werewolf leader snarled and leapt forward, fangs savagely bared to kill. Amity hurriedly attempted to cast a fire spell, but the werewolf was blasted by an aquamarine light before she even finished. 

A dozen more spells were cast at the werewolves, effectively scaring off the whole pack, and they were flabbergasted to see a hooded figure step into clearing. The cloak they were wearing was reminiscent of the Emperor’s Coven, but it lacked the signature bird mask.

“Who are you?” The trio wondered in unison.

The hooded figure turned towards them and pulled down their hood.

Amity, Gus, and Willow’s jaws dropped to the floor.

“No way!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am yet again leaving it on a cliffhanger (but I’d love to hear your thoughts and theories for what is going to happen next!)
> 
> Also, feel free to throw in some requests/suggestions for this fanfic or one-shots based off of this!


	16. Empty Apologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I updated on time... almost. Enjoy!  
> (Edit note: lol I made I typo but I fixed it)

“Lilith? What are you doing here?” Amity sputtered out, breaking the silence. 

“I came to find Luz before anything bad happened… but it looks like I was a little late,” Lilith frowned upon looking at the disheveled group. 

“Wait, you knew that Luz was like this and you let her go? Who’s side are you on?!” 

“Well I didn’t mean for this to happen—”

King hopped out of Lilith’s hood and cut her off. “Hey, while you guys are arguing Luz is suffering! Can you save the discussion for later?” He said irritably. They were surprised to hear this from King of all people, as he was typically concerned with nap spots and stuffed toys, but they dropped the conversation. Lilith pulled out a healing patch from her cloak and placed it onto Luz’s wounds. 

Almost immediately, Luz’s face eases into a more relaxed expression, and she cautiously stands up. _Minor internal damage,_ Lilith notes, and she motions for the witches to support Luz. 

“I assume that you three would prefer to stay with Luz for the night?” Lilith supposed, and they nodded gratefully.

“Good, now follow me.”

—

It turned out that they were only a mile away from the Owl House, so the walk was relatively short. Lilith ushered them inside the house and closed the door swiftly. Hooty didn’t even greet them with his usual energy, but he was watching them worriedly.

Willow, Gus, and Amity brought Luz to the carpet while Lilith hurriedly administered a potion to Luz.

Willow squinted at Luz. “What did that potion do?”

Lilith stood up and turned to face them, saying “it’s a healing potion for both internal and external injuries that the healing patch could not reach. However, I didn’t give it to her then because it usually—” 

Snores filled the air, and they found that Luz was fast asleep on the floor.

“—puts people to sleep.” Lilith finished. 

“Now I think I owe you three an explanation? Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make some tea” Lilith suggested, and the trio sat down anxiously awaiting the story.

—

Lilith sat down in the weathered armchair adjacent to the witches and prepared herself to tell them what happened to Luz. Once she gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath, she began.

“So… as you probably figured out, Luz has a curse.”

The trio gasped, but Lilith leaned forward and pushed on, anticipating their questions.

“Before you ask questions, let me tell you how it happened… Edalyn was captured by the Emperor’s Coven as you know, but Luz saved her from petrification. Once we escaped, Edalyn’s condition became critical, so I had to think fast in the situation we were in. I initiated the spell of transference and Luz bravely stepped up to take my sister’s curse…” Lilith trailed off, not wanting to reveal how _she_ was the one who caused her sister so much pain, and for nothing. 

“So you took away her future?” Amity spoke coldly, breaking the uneasy silence. “Just because you were too afraid to do it yourself?”

Lilith sharply sucked in a breath as her heart twisted in guilt and regret. “I’m—“

“You’re what? Sorry?!” Amity jumped to her feet. “As if sorry could undo what you did.”

Willow and Gus were angry, but they couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the woman being berated.

“You know, I guess I have to thank you. I won’t bother trying to join the Emperor’s Coven now that I know only liars and cowards join it,” Amity spat bitterly.

Lilith was ashamed. She failed her sister, and now the only person who had looked up to her saw her as a selfish coward. _Maybe I am a coward_ , Lilith pondered. _Do I really want to keep living like this?_

Willow gripped Amity’s shoulder gently, which caused Amity’s anger to ebb. She took a shuddering breath and sat back down on the coach, resisting the urge to say anything else.

Lilith quietly stood up and made her way to the stairs.

“I think I must be taking my leave… there are spare blankets and sleeping bags in the closet, I think. Good night.”

And with that, she strode upstairs, leaving them in an awkward silence.

—

_I am going to make it up to my sister_ , _no matter what it takes._

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I kinda did Lilith dirty in this, but I promise it will get better for her! This chapter basically sets her up for redemption. Next chapter will be fluffier and focus on Luz and Co!
> 
> As always, I appreciate your thoughts and theories!


	17. Help?!

Hi again everyone! Sorry for not updating last week, but unfortunately I’ve been stuck in some pretty bad writer’s block. Also, not going to lie, I don’t have any clue what to do next in terms of plot (I only have minor details planned out, but not an actual cohesive plot planned). So. I would love to hear suggestions for what I should to next, or what you want to see happen for this AU! I’ll try to get a chapter out by this Sunday or by the very latest next Wednesday, but the more suggestions there are, the more likely that the chapter will be done earlier! Anyways, stay awesome, and I’ll be reading/responding to comments!


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